10 ways to inspire others to be their best

by Francis J. Kong – The Philippine Star, 3 Oct 2021

Here is a material authored by Michael Angier entitled: There are 10 ways to inspire others to be their best. [1] I am sure you will find them interesting. But just like any good movie you enjoy, there will be a twist towards the end, and I will add a few thoughts and commentary of my own and weave it through the material.

1. Be a good example
People watch what you do more than they listen to what you say. Be someone worth emulating. Ralph Waldo Emerson says it right. “Who you speak so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

2. Care about others
People don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care. Ask questions and take a genuine interest in people. Some people look at other people as a nagging interruption of their work. Others look at people as the main reason why they have work. You are either task-driven or people-oriented at any given time. Try to be a goal-oriented person, but develop your people skills at the same time.

3. Encouragement
Everyone goes through tough times. When you support people and encourage them through those tough times, you’ll inspire them to see the best in themselves and the situation.

4. Be inspired yourself
Look for people, ideas, environments, and knowledge that you find inspiring and motivating. How can you inspire others when you’re downcast all the time? You cannot give what you do not have, and you cannot share what you do not own. Others go through the day waiting, hoping, and praying for divine inspiration to hit them like a bolt of lightning from the blue skies; well, it won’t happen. You look for your inspiration, and when you have it, that’s the only time you get to inspire others.

5. Share from your experience
You have more to share than you realize. Mine the rich experiences of your life and share your wisdom from your unique point of view. You may be the only one who can touch someone with your inspiring message. Theories and lectures are fine, but nothing beats the lesson learned from a real “LIVE” experience. (Haven’t you noticed that the word L-I-V-E attracts you more than a delayed telecast every time you watch the news?)

6. Be vulnerable
Be willing to share your failures, as well as your successes. Others will relate to you. They will understand that they are not the only ones facing challenges, and do not pretend to be perfect. People can always forgive an honest man who makes a mistake. What they cannot forgive is one who pretends to be perfect. Don’t be a perfectionist too. I have never seen a happy perfectionist. Have you?

7. Tell stories
Facts tell, and stories sell. They inspire too. We learn best from parables, and we all need to develop our own inspiring stories. Inject humor in your presentation. Not the dry ones, of course, not the green ones, for they cheapen, and not the sarcastic ones because they hurt. But the wholesome ones because they show us for who we are.

Nice, practical, relevant, and not hard to apply, would you not agree?

When leaders have these attributes and practice them, they will be unique to reproduce themselves and produce the next generation of leaders. Attrition lowered, morale increased, teamwork is achieved. Silo thinking is reduced. And most importantly, people are inspired even when they go through difficult times.

Now here is the promised twist. If you find this article relevant and practical, and that the content is useful and executable, this happens to be an article I have kept for more than 20 years. And the qualities and attributes for inspiring leaders still lack today. Perhaps companies never considered leadership training necessary. Maybe the leaders themselves think it is beneath them to attend leadership seminars.

Perhaps facilitators and trainers like me have not been effective with our craft. We will never know. But now that we have seen the twist in today’s material. Would you not say that it is about time we invest in a very practical and relevant leadership training program? Especially during this prolonged, challenging time when the people need all the inspiration they can get? Just me thinking out loud.